Luna Gold Corp. Drills 13.00 Metres @ 4.89 g/t Au Including 1.50 Metres @ 25.10 g/t Au at Piaba, Aurizona and Extends Mineral...

Luna Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:LGC)(LMA:LGC)(OTCQX:LGCUF) ("Luna Gold" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce positive assay results from the initial deep
drill program at the Piaba gold deposit, Aurizona. The program was conducted to
extend the depth of the Piaba mineralized structure beneath the limit of the
2011 resource estimate and to identify high-grade gold targets at depth in the
system. Program objectives have been met and an updated drill plan map and three
dimensional Corebox model showing the drill hole locations in the deposit have
been uploaded to the Luna Gold website at www.lunagold.com or to view directly
click below.


Significant intercepts:



--  26.00 metres @ 1.94 g/t Au including 2.00 metres @ 5.74 g/t Au and 2.00
    meters @ 6.09 g/t Au in BRAZD438 (Section 0400E) 
--  13.00 metres @ 4.89 g/t Au including 1.50 meters @ 25.10 g/t Au and 0.50
    meters @ 10.45 g/t Au in BRAZD436 (Section 0100W) 



Luna Gold's President & CEO, John Blake, comments, "The initial deep drill
program has produced very encouraging results extending the Piaba orebody to
depths of over 600 metres vertical depth. The Piaba remains open along a 3.3
kilometre strike and at depth. All holes intersected down-dip extensions to the
main deposit. The results from these six widely spaced exploration holes
consolidate Piaba as a major mineralizing system. Several holes intersected
high-grade mineralization confirming our deposit model and future programs will
focus on vectoring towards higher grade potential underground targets. The
results further demonstrate the major resource expansion potential of Aurizona
which currently contains Measured and Indicated gold resources totaling 78.0 Mt
at 1.26 g/t Au or 3.17 million ounces gold and Inferred gold resources totaling
15.2 Mt at 1.47 g/t Au or 0.72 million ounces gold."


Today's assay results are for six drill holes totaling 3,950 metres drilled on
six sections covering a three kilometre strike length of the Piaba deposit.
Drill hole spacing ranges from 300 metres to 900 metres along strike. All holes
intersected the down-dip extension of the Piaba orebody with strong hydrothermal
alteration characterized by graphite, silica, and sulfide though the mineralized
zone. Piaba is a large and deep seated orogenic gold deposit containing
high-grade cross-cutting structures hosted within a major shear zone.
Significant mineralized intercepts from holes drilled across the deposit are
tabulated below.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           START        END                                 
                           DEPTH      DEPTH    FROM      TO    INT  AU (G/T)
SECTION HOLE ID  AZI  DIP    (M)        (M)     (M)     (M)    (M)  UNCAPPED
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             No Intercepts greater than 1.00
1100E  BRAZD439  168  -70            600.40               g/t Au            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0400E  BRAZD438  168  -77   0.00     640.73  558.00  584.00  26.00      1.94
                                  Including  561.00  563.00   2.00      5.74
                                        And  570.00  572.00   2.00      6.09
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0100W  BRAZD436  168  -70   0.00     682.90  564.00  576.00  12.00      1.12
                                             594.00  630.00  36.00      1.40
                                  Including  606.00  607.00   1.00      7.33
                                             642.00  654.00  12.00      2.09
                                  Including  643.00  646.00   3.00      4.98
                                             658.00  671.00  13.00      4.89
                                  Including  659.00  660.50   1.50     25.10
                                        And  670.50  671.00   0.50     10.45
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0700W  BRAZD435  168  -70   0.00     776.54  602.00  603.00   1.00      4.11
                                             665.50  669.00   3.50      1.55
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1000W  BRAZD434  168  -70   0.00     594.46  436.00  452.00  16.00      1.88
                                  Including  443.00  444.00   1.00      6.22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1900W  BRAZD437  168  -75   0.00     655.16  528.00  534.00   6.00      1.02
                                             554.00  559.00   5.00      2.13
                                  Including  554.00  556.00   2.00      3.81
----------------------------------------------------------------------------



Table 1. Mineralized drill intercepts from the initial Aurizona deep drill
program ordered from east to west. Intervals are calculated as composites using
a 0.30 gram/tonne Au cut-off and maximum 2 metre internal waste. True widths to
be established. Intervals lower than 1.00 g/t Au are not shown.


To view Figure 1, please visit the following link:
http://www.marketwire.com/library/20120812-luna_800.jpg.


To view Piaba Drill Plan Map, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaDrillPlanMap1.pdf.


To view Piaba Section 1100E, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection1100E1.png.


To view Piaba Section 0400E, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection0400E.png.


To view Piaba Section 0100W, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection0100W.png.


To view Piaba Section 0700W, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection0700W.png.


To view Piaba Section 1000W, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection1000W.png.


To view Piaba Section 1900W, please visit the following link:
www.lunagold.com/en/investormediarelations/resources/PiabaSection1900W.png.


About Luna Gold Corp.

Luna is a gold production and exploration company engaged in the operation,
exploration and development of gold deposits and advanced stage gold exploration
projects in Brazil.


On behalf of the Board of Directors

LUNA GOLD CORP.

John Blake, President and CEO

Regulatory Footnotes

Luna operates a rigorous QA/QC protocol on all aspects of sampling and
analytical procedure. Drill core is checked, logged, marked for sampling and
sawn in half. One half of the HQ diameter core is maintained for future
reference and one half of the core is sent for analysis. For the six drill holes
contained in this release core diameter was reduced to NQ below 400 m core
depth. Samples are collected at approximately 2 metre intervals, which is
reduced to 1 metre intervals or less when a mineralized zone is encountered. All
core and samples are stored in secure locked areas under Luna supervision.
Samples are transported from the Aurizona project to the ALS Chemex sample
preparation facility in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais and Goiania, Goias
accompanied by Luna personnel. Samples are assayed at ALS Chemex Labs in Lima,
Peru and Perth, Australia using a 50 gram fire assay with AAS finish. Some
samples are transported from the Aurizona project to the ACME Labs sample
preparation facility in Cuiaba, Mato Grosso and Goiania, Goias accompanied by
Luna personnel. Samples are assayed at ACME Labs in Santiago, Chile using a 50
gram fire assay with AAS finish. Both ACME Labs and ALS Chemex are international
laboratories and are independent of Luna. Each sample batch contains 10% of
randomly inserted internal control samples consisting of certified analytical
standards, blanks (barren rock) and duplicates. These QA/QC procedures provide
several measures of data quality and assure the Company that the assay data is
representative of the original sample. Additional technical information about
the Aurizona Project is available in our technical report dated January 23,
2012, filed on SEDAR.


Titus Haggan Ph.D., EurGeol Certified Professional Geologist #746, Luna's Vice
President Exploration is the Qualified Person as defined under National
Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the
exploration program and has supervised the preparation of and reviewed the
technical disclosure in this press release. Non-qualified persons currently work
on Luna's exploration programs under the guidance of Titus Haggan. Dr. Haggan
takes responsibility for work, information and advice generated by non-Qualified
persons and has taken the steps required to ensure that the work, information
and advice is sound.


This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an
offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have
not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of
1933, as amended or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold
within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the United
States Securities Act of 1933 and applicable state securities laws or an
exemption from such registration is available.


Forward-Looking Statements     

This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward
looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities
laws. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend",
"estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with
respect to future gold production and/or the results of analysis on gold
production. Forward-looking statements are based on forecasts of future results,
estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that while believed by
management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business,
economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Forward-looking
statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the
specific factors identified in Luna Gold Corp.'s periodic filings with Canadian
Securities Regulators. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the
exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in
interpreting drill results and other exploration data, the potential for delays
in exploration or development activities, the geology, grade and continuity of
mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining
results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, accidents,
equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated
difficulties with or interruptions in production and operations, fluctuating
metal prices, unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the
availability and costs of financing needed in the future, the inherent
uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected
costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations,
regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions and
liability, competition, loss of key employees, and other related risks and
uncertainties. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward- looking
information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking
information represents management's best judgment based on information currently
available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future
results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements or information.